Biological specimens are used every day for the purposes of education. The present invention relates generally to the field of biological specimens and specifically to the field of the preservation of dead biological specimens for the purpose of study and dissection.
In order to preserve the specimens embalming fluid is used. Many different chemicals are used, because of their preservative effects, for embalming fluids. For most of the nineteenth century arsenical compounds were used. However, the use of these compounds was restricted due to the dangers they presented to the living people who would be exposed to them.
Today, a different problem occurs with formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a very good preservative, however, it tends to cause changes in the specimens that render them less life-like. Some companies attempt to avoid this problem by trying to wash the formaldehyde out of the specimens before they are shipped. This leaves the specimens slightly more life-like. However, washing the specimens does not remove all the formaldehyde from them. Also, because a great deal of the formaldehyde is removed, the specimen is more vulnerable to biological damage; like decay. The present invention is a totally new preservative formula based largely upon chemicals which are approved for use in foods. Therefore, the formula is believed safe for both the persons who prepare the specimens and the persons who use the specimens. In addition, there is an unexpected advantage, the specimens are much more life-like both in color and texture than those prepared in formaldehyde. For that reason they are much better for instructional purposes then specimens preserved in formaldehyde.
A number of preservative that do not contain formaldehyde are known to the inventor. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,257,279 (Schain); 3,546,334 (Lerner); 3,624,197 (Schain); 3,837,979 (brown); 4,164,393 (Drury); 4,727,571 (Romero-Sierra et al.); 4,287,222 (Robinson); 4,278,715 (Romero-Sierra et al.); 4,328,256 (Romero-Sierra et al.); 4,349,580 (Romero-Sierra et al.); 4,463,117 (Maline). However, none of the above compositions make use of the same composition of chemicals as in the present invention to achieve their preservative effects. Also, none of the prior art compositions is for the specific purpose of preserving biological specimens for both study and dissection. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,979 (Brown) claims a method for suspending specimens in a stable, continuous gel whereby the specimen may be observed as it is held immobile in the transparent gel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,117 (Maline) shows a process with a result similar to the Brown patent but a different procedure is used. The remaining patents disclose compositions used to preserve animal hides, to preserve plants or plant tissue, and for the preparation of slides for the purpose of microscopic study.
No prior art is known to the inventor which replaces formaldehyde as a preservative for the preparation of biological specimens to be studied and/or dissected.